Mohammed cartoon author to sue Dutch MP

The Danish cartoonist whose caricature of the Prophet Mohammed outraged Muslims said he would press copyright charges against a far-right Dutch MP for reproducing it in his controversial anti-Islam video.

Kurt Westergaard's cartoon was among those that sparked a worldwide outcry and fierce debate about freedom of speech after they were first published in 2005. He said he was bringing the charge against Geert Wilders after the far-right MP published his anti-Islam video online.

Mr Wilders' 17-minute video contains an image of Mr Westergaard's cartoon showing the prophet with a bomb, its fuse burning, protruding from his turban.

Entitled 'Fitna', which is a Koranic term sometimes translated as 'strife', it also features violent imagery of terrorist attacks in New York and Madrid intertwined with Koranic texts.

"You can't just steal other people's works. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech, it's all about copyright," Mr Westergaard said.

"I won't accept my cartoon being taken out of its original context and used in a completely different one."

Mr Westergaard has been in hiding since Danish police in February said they had foiled an assassination attempt against him.

Mr Wilders posted his video online against his Government's wishes, a move that has sparked controversy worldwide.

He says the film highlights his position that Islam is "a danger to freedom", but the Dutch Prime Minister has denounced the film, saying its only purpose is to offend Muslims around the world.

Lawsuits all round

Meanwhile, a coalition of Jordanian media says they will take Mr Wilders to court over the film and urged Arab leaders to review ties with Denmark and the Netherlands.

"We held an urgent meeting Thursday evening and decided to sue extremist and Zionist deputy Geert Wilders," over the film deemed offensive to the Koran, Islam's holiest book, coalition spokesman Zakaria al-Sheikh said.

Sheikh said the coalition of 30 Jordanian independent newspapers, websites and radios would also initiate a campaign to boycott Dutch products in addition to launching legal proceedings against Mr Wilders in Jordan.

He also urged Arab leaders at a weekend summit in Damascus "to denounce campaigns hostile to Islam and review their ties with countries like Denmark and the Netherlands where these campaigns were launched".

A handful of Muslim countries had responded early Friday, with Iran saying the short movie showed some Westerners were waging a "vendetta" against Islam, and warning of unspecified repercussions.

Bangladesh also said the film could have "grave consequences", while a coalition of Jordanian media said it would sue Mr Wilders and launch a campaign to boycott Dutch products.

The European Union's Slovenian Presidency also attacked the film, saying it served "no other purpose than inflaming hatred."

But Muslim leaders in The Netherlands called at a joint press conference for their co-religionists in other countries not to over-react.

"We call on them to follow our strategy and not react with attacks on Dutch embassies or tourists," the head of the Dutch Moroccan community, Mohamed Rabbae, said.

"We feel offended by the link between violence and Islam but we know this guy [and] the best response is a response in a responsible manner."

In an interview Mr Wilders said "it was not my intention to cause riots," and he was happy about the mild reaction in the Netherlands.